


Revenge of the Peeps

by carolej126



Category: The Magnificent Seven (TV)
Genre: Family, Gen, Humor, Magnificent Seven AU: Little Britches ATF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-08
Updated: 2015-06-08
Packaged: 2018-04-03 13:10:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4102234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carolej126/pseuds/carolej126
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Originally published in Magnificent Kids 10 (Neon Rainbow Press, 2008)</p>
<p>Vin has a bad dream, and Buck just might be to blame.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Revenge of the Peeps

"No! No!"

Chris Larabee bolted to an upright position, awake in an instant at the sound of his son's terror-filled voice. Flinging his bedclothes aside, Chris made for his bedroom door at a near run, sliding on the hardwood floor as he reached the hallway and turned toward the room that Vin shared with JD. After nearly colliding with Buck, who'd apparently been startled awake by the loud cries, Chris followed the other man into the boys' bedroom. 

On the bottom bunk, five-year-old JD was sitting up, his eyes wide as he stared at the two men. Holding out his arms, he was immediately picked up and cradled by Buck, who then moved back out of the way as Chris approached Vin.

The older boy was still asleep, but his rest was anything but restful. The blankets were twisted around his small frame, and his hands were clutching Cat in a tight grip. His head was moving frantically from side to side, and he was muttering, "No!" over and over in a quiet but increasingly panicked tone.

"Vin?" Chris called softly, gently rubbing the little boy's arm. "Hey, cowboy, it's time to wake-up." 

There was no response at first, then the quiet mumbling tapered off, Vin's agitated motions ceased, and the small child opened his eyes. 

"You okay, cowboy?" Chris asked, moving his hand up to rest on Vin's shoulder. 

"Dad?" 

"I'm right here, son," Chris reassured. "Did you have a bad dream?"

Vin nodded almost imperceptibly. 

Chris nodded. "That's what I thought. You know it was just a dream, right?"

"I know, but..."

"It was still scary," Chris finished for him.

"Yeah." The seven-year-old boy reached out for his father, obviously still needing assurance that it had, in fact, been a dream. 

"Do you want to tell me about it?" 

Vin nodded, snuggling against his father's chest, before saying, "They was chasin' me and I couldn't get 'way."

"Who was chasing you?"

Vin pushed back a little so he could see Chris's face. "The peeps."

Chris frowned. "Peeps?" he repeated, darting a questioning look in Buck's direction.

"They didn't like bein' blowed up, so they was chasin' me," Vin explained.

"Uh, Chris," Buck started, looking a bit sheepish. "While you were at that meeting last night, we-"

"We blowed up the peeps in the microwave," JD chimed in from across the room. "We did the yellow ones first, then the green ones. I got to do the blue ones by myself, and Vin did the purple ones. We was gonna do the pink ones, but those are for girls."

"You blew up the marshmallow peeps in the microwave," Chris stated, not quite believing what he was hearing.

"An' they must not 'a liked it." Vin exchanged a glance with JD. "We won't do it anymore."

"Nope," JD agreed. "Maybe we can find another candy to blow up," he added hopefully.

Buck grimaced. "We'll, uh, talk about it in the morning, son, okay?"

JD shrugged. "Okay." 

Chris took a deep breath, already anticipating tomorrow's lecture on blowing up *anything* in the microwave. 

"Come on, Little Bit," Buck directed, lowering JD to the floor and nudging him in the direction of the bunk beds, "time for you to get back in bed."

As Buck tucked JD in, Chris looked at Vin. "What about you?" he asked quietly, "Are you okay now?" 

Vin only hesitated for a moment before nodding. He gave his father a hug that was quickly reciprocated before scooting under the blankets.

With the boys settled in their beds, the two fathers headed back to their own rooms.

"Chris, I..." Buck began, halfway down the hallway.

"Save it for tomorrow," Chris answered. "Just tell me one thing: Did the three of you do anything else last night that might cause nightmares?"

Buck fingered his mustache thoughtfully for a moment, and then shook his head. "Nope. Not unless you think the boys might dream about bein' chased by rabbits 'cause they ate the heads off 'a all the chocolate bunnies."

"Buck!"

 

~end~


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